Compare your foreign editions of JLA/Avengers!

[Torsten B Abel]

Okay, folks, I finally got my copies of JLA/Die Rächer #1 (German) today (it was actually already released about three weeks ago), and I thought it would be nice to have a thread where people from around the world can compare their domestic reprints of JLA/Avengers.

Now, for the first issue in German: JLA/Die Rächer is being released by Panini Comics (actually an Italian company but with a German branch which currently holds the licenses for BOTH Marvel AND DC reprints in Germany). The price for the first issue is 4 Euros which is about 4 US Dollars. YES, it is cheaper than the US release. But is it actually worth the money? Read on. This is based on a review I did in German for www.dcfanpage.de as an addendum to my original reprint of the American edition (the updated review should be online soon).

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At the Comic Action 2003 convention, Panini Comics EIC Tony Verdini promised me a "perfect" German edition of JLA/A. Since to err is human, this wasn't possible in its entirety as expected, but man, you can say without a doubt the Paninis put a whole lot of effort into trying to keep this promise. First, the outer look: The cover of the German edition looks confusingly like its American counterpart, and if it wasn't for the lack of a reflective surface (kind of like the inside cover of the US version, maybe even a little rougher - in return the inside cover of the German version is even MORE reflective than the cover itself AND more reflective than the American inside cover) and, of course, the changed header ("JLA/Die Rächer" plus swapped Marvel and DC logos plus "Marvel Deutschland" logo), the illusion would be nearly flawless at first sight.
The translation by Christian Heiß, the "World's Worst Translator" (a nickname by which I usually refer to him which is in NO WAY meant to be taken literal - I know Chris for years, this is an inside JOKE) is also quite good, I particularly like his interpretation of Thor (which already blew me away in the recent German reprint of Contest of Champions II a few years ago which was also translated by Chris). The characters talk - with the obvious exception of Thor - in a fluent and not too overblown language, and too obvious german-izations have thankfully been avoided. My only complaint in that regards is Power Ring of the Crime Syndicate who has been translated as "Kraftring" for some reason (granted, that's the tradional German translation of the thing on Green Lantern's finger, but THIS is an individual character!). And just for the sake of completeness, J'Onn's German sentence on page 24 has been changed to an Italian sentence (which isn't all that surprising if you consider who owns Panini). To sum it up, it's an above-average Heiß translation, and only Steve "Koenig" Kups (the notoriously stressed Panini translator/editor who is extremely popular among fans) might have instantly been able to come up with something even better.
Minor complaints from my part (but only since I know the American edition) concern the uniform lettering for all characters including Thor, Iron Man and the Vision (even the color is the same, Krona's letters are BLACK on a purple background), the mysterious shifting of Fallville, Iowa to "Fallville in Ohio" and an empty speech ballon on page 40 (Metron's "And now..."). And colorist Tom Smith is already having a lot of fun because he's erroneously credited as "inker" in the German issue.
The printing quality is also quite good and can only be told apart from the original version by a trained eye (Tom, I'm waiting for your judgment! ) - on some pages the colors appear to look even MORE saturated than in the US edition!
In order to give the reader actually a run for his/her money, the editorial pages not only contain translated versions of the traditional JLA and Avengers introductions ("And there came a day...") but also an additional introductory text that offers some background information on the unfinished crossover from the Eighties, and the inside of the back cover features not only a preview of the second issue but also two short bios of Superman and Thor.

To sum it up (again), if you happen to understand German and want to save money, I strongly recommend you to buy JLA/Die Rächer #1.

Note: There's also a variant cover edition (limited to 600 copies) that has been produced fo the occasion of the "Open House 2004" dealer's fair hosted by Modern Graphics (the German equivalent of Diamond) with a cover prive of 6,95 Euros. The cover art has been taken from the interior of issue 3, precisely the double-page spread on pages 30/31.

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Now, folks - give me some input. Did you find this review helpful?

And all the French, British, Brazilian and other foreign fans - let me know about your versions! Do they live up to the original version? Would you recommend someone who speaks both your native language and Engish to buy your domestic reprint instead of the American release? Let me know!

[Torsten B Abel]

Okay... After waiting for an eternity, I finally got issue 2... although just the variant cover edition. But I'm sure I'll get the regular edition as well soon. Anyway, on to the review...

The positive trend started with the first issue keeps on. Actually, I've kind of grown to the rougher, non-gloss covers which, at least to me, look like you can touch them without worrying about fingerprints etc. while still being of a high quality.

The translation of Christian Heiß is again enjoyable, and aside from Thor, I'm especially surprised this time by Plastic Man whose jokes seem to be even funnier in the German version. My only points of criticism are a "literal" translation of the term "Asgardians" instead of the established, "mythologic" German name, and a tiny twist of words in the translation of "Let those who worship evil's might..." which kind of inverts the meaning of the phrase. But given Kyle's situation in the respective scene, that kind of makes sense.

While I can't say whether the "Spinal Tap" reference was translated "Correctly" (having never watched the movie either in the German dub nor in English), the translation of "Hungry Hungry Hippos" makes it evident that Christian obsiously doesn't know the game. But then, I failed at trying to find out the German name of the game either, although I'm sure having played it as a kid. Finally, the term "big bang" was translated literally while I'd have preferred the established German term (which would translate literally as "primal bang").

The standardized lettering font for all characters is a minor letdown as compared to the American edition, and Tom Smith is erroneously listed as "inker" in the credits again.

The priting quality is still great and hardly any different from the American edition.

The editorial pages include an introduction i.e. summary of the events of the first issue (just like in the American edition) and short bios on Batman and Captain America.

Conclusion: You happen to understand German and don't want to spend $ 5.95 on the issue - save about 1/3 of the money and buy the German reprint instead.

Note: There's also a variant cover edition that's available exclusively at comic book shops that participate in the "Panini Point" partner program and has a cover price of 6.50 Euros. The cover art has been taken from page 47 of issue 1.

Stay tuned for my review of issue 3 which was also in the mail today.

[Torsten B Abel]

Issue 3.

Wait, wait, you will ask... isn't issue 3 supposed not to come out before next Wednesday?
Well... In Germany, it's anything but unusual for some comic shops to get new books up to two weeks (!) before the official relase date. And unlike in the USA, they're actually allowed to sell those issues (which leads to the occasional message board question "why do you guys already have the issue? It's just due out next week!"). So actually, the "official release date" simply refers to the date when every shop is supposed to have the respective issue in stock.

Anyways, on to the issue.

Once again, I'm quite satisfied with the German version. By now I'm absolutely convinced that the non-reflective covers are a whole lot better than the glossy American ones. You can still enjoy the bright colors without any lights reflecting on the surface. Still, someone sure could have told Panini's graphic department that the US version's barcode had been placed over Plastic Man's miscolored leg for a reason (instead of placing it over, say, a major portion of Vixen's body)...

Concerning the translation by Christian Heiß, I've again got only some minor points to criticize: The German substitute for "hunk o'man" makes it look like Black Canary and Hawkeye are married at the beginning of the issue (which is not implied by the original text), addditionally I have no idea why the "particle accelerator" has been replaced by a "particle generator", the "Masters of Evil" have been translated slightly different as compared to using the established, 100% literal German translation, and the explanation for Captain America's and Superman's odd behavior that started in issue 3 is slightly lost in the translation. On the other hand, for some reason I really like the literal, somehow "classical" translation of "Grim Reaper" (his name was left untranslated in previous German releases), and Thor once again kicks major (verbal) butt. Even the established German word for "Big Bang" (which I missed in the previous issue) is used this time.

While Panini still insists on erroneously listing colorist Tom Smith as "inker", the printing quality is again on the same level as in the American edition - better yet, the "ACTOR" artwork on page 7 is actually sharper than the obviously downsized pic in the original relase. Oh, one more thing: While I do understand the huge captions on page 4 (for the "Marvel and DC present..." intro) were necessary (so the original text isn't visible underneath the German version), more decent colors (i.e. no purple) wouldn't have been that much of a bad idea, right?

The editorial pages feature, as usually, a short introduction that summarizes the events from the previous issues (just like in the American version) and short bios on the various Green Lanterns and Iron Man.

To sum it up: A good, easily readable translation, a great printing quailty and all in all a cheap alternative to the original edition.

Note: There is also a variant cover edition that's available exclusively via Panini's online shop and which costs 6.50 Euros. The cover art is taken from the last page of this issue.

[Torsten B Abel]

Finally... issue 4.

Took me some time to get it (or better took it some time to ship to my place), but finally I'm holding it in my hands...

Well. Unfortunately, the fourth issue (referring to the German edition only) doesn't quite live up to the preceeding issues. While the numbers 1-3 also had minor flaws, in this case it's their sheer number which increasingly gets in the way of the overall impression.

The translation by Christian Heiß is - mostly - decent again, especially Thor once again kicks butt, which is emphasized even more with the change in style when he's suddenly replaced by Thor II (Eric Masterson) on page 32. Additionally, She-Hulk (on page 37) and Hawkeye (across the entire issue) are pretty sweet, and special bonus points worth of notice are the correction (meaning-wise) of the distorting typo on page 2 of the American edsition ("I wield their powers not" instead of the intended "now"), "Giganto's horn" on page 36, Batroc's hilarious French accent and a (deliberate?) rhyme in Batroc's entrance speech.

On the other hand, several minor instances of sloppiness are evident. On page 1, the term "terminal point" was translated with "Verlöschungspunkt" (which means something like "annihilation point", but the German word simply sounds ODD in itself - how about using "critical point" instead, for example?). On page 31, Captain America's Reaktion to Prometheus' threat that he (Prometheus) had downloaded Batman's fighting skills was changed from a contemptuous "Oh?" to a surprised "Oh!" which somewhat changes the meaning, the Radioactive Man's "sinnloser Unsinn" (i.e. "nonsensical nonsense") on page 38 is somewhat redundant, and a repated error throughout the issue seriously insults my faith in my own language - instead of "der Schild" (masculine; means "the shield"), Superman repeatedly refers to "das Schild" (neuter; means "The sign" as in "traffic sign").

All of those points are just minor points of criticism, but their sheer number, combined with several other problems they have a lasting effect on the overall impression of the issue. On the other hand, it's necessary to point out that the fourth issue had to be finished with somewhat less time at hand than the preceeding issues (because issue 4 had been delayed in the USA).

The printing quality is subject to serious fluctuations quality-wise this time. While the non-glossy cover is again superior to the American one and lots of pages can stand the direct comparison with the American edition, there are lots of examples like pages 2/3 or 35 where the colors look extremely pale and unsaturated.

Additionally, the increased use of "text graphics" (the story title, the "Avengers Assemble" etc.) also has a negative effect on the look of the pages. While I understand the need for German texts pasted over the English ones, monotonous black text on white background doesn't look half as good as the colorful rextures of the American edition. While that was also the case in the previous issues, the increased use makes it appear a lot more obvious this time.

Finally, colorist Tom Smith is once again miscredited as "inker", but that's only for completeness's sake. :-)

As usual, the editorial pages feature an introduction (which sums up the events of the previous issues) and bios on Wonder Woman and She-Hulk.

To sum it up: A still quite decent translation, but lots of sloppy tidbits, fluctuant printing quality and monotonous text graphics have a negative effect on the overall impresison. While the price alone makes it still the better choice as compared to the original version, it's not as good as the previous issues.

Note: Just like with the previous issues, a variant cover edition was originally planed but wasn't realized in the end this time.